Senate Committee backs amended HB 430 to expand state internship program, limit fingerprinting requirement

HONOLULU — The Senate Committee on Labor and Technology on March 14 recommended passing House Bill 430, House Draft 2, with amendments that loosen a fingerprinting requirement for interns, add a minimum GPA, and require placement reporting to a state intern registry.

The bill authorizes the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) to enter into contracts with eligible private employers and registered apprenticeship programs to provide on-the-job training for students and recent graduates. The draft adopted by the committee also specifies that the State will be the responsible employer for workers’ compensation coverage for participants in the program, subject to statutory limits and available funding.

The issue that drew the most detailed committee attention was a provision on background checks. Deputy Attorney General Lianne Yamashiro told the committee that the bill’s current cross-reference appeared to require fingerprinting and submission of records to the FBI and the Criminal Justice Data Center under a cited Hawaii Revised Statutes section. Yamashiro said, “Section 8406-2.7 requires fingerprinting, which is sent to the FBI and the Criminal Justice Data Center for conviction and arrest records.” She advised language changes to avoid automatically subjecting interns — particularly minors — to that level of background check and offered to help draft alternate text.

“Internships are incredibly important,” said Shamaya Gorham, an intern with the Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities, who testified in support of the measure. Deborah Halbert, Vice President of Academic Strategy for the University of Hawaii, told the committee that “internships are one of the high impact practices for students if we are looking at students graduating and then pursuing careers.” DLIR Director Jade Butay testified that the department supports the intent of the bill so long as it does not adversely affect priorities in the governor’s budget request.

In response to the attorney general’s concerns, the committee adopted the AG’s recommended amendment language that replaces the mandated fingerprinting cross-reference with a provision allowing the DLIR to “may conduct criminal history background checks as appropriate and shall develop eligibility criteria for interns.” The committee also added several provisions drawn from previously considered Senate language: a minimum cumulative college grade point average of 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale) for interns where applicable; a requirement that the names of private or public sector organizations where interns are placed be reported; and text instructing DLIR to collaborate with the HERD to process public program applications and place interns in state executive branch departments, agencies, or programs. The committee’s draft specifies that, before an internship begins, DLIR shall provide HERD with the intern’s name, assigned state agency or program, expected start and end dates, and other information HERD may require to assist an intern in pursuing future state employment.

Yamashiro noted that, under the existing statutory framework she cited, records for 16- and 17-year-old interns would remain confidential; her testimony informed the committee’s decision to allow DLIR discretion on the scope of criminal-history checks. The committee also flagged that the bill’s effective date language was changed during the floor discussion; the transcript records the revised date as “07/01/2015.”

On the committee roll call, Chair Aquino and Vice Chair Lee voted aye; Senator Moriwaki and Senator Fevella also recorded aye votes. Senator Ihara was excused. The committee adopted the recommendation to pass HB 430, HD2, with the listed amendments and closed the hearing.

The measure’s text as discussed includes statutory cross-references and specific page-and-line edits referenced during the hearing; the adopted committee recommendation directs staff to insert the attorney general’s language and the placement and GPA provisions into the bill draft for floor consideration.